9 stages, almost 500 artists, 70 concerts by 65 acts, only 11 of which came from outside of Estonia. The latter fact in particular makes for a special attraction: Estonia here presents itself at its best with a rich traditional cultural landscape. The spectrum ranges from the extremely popular group Zetod with their heavy pop-rocky folk, including folklore shirts and caps, to workshops with the intimate men’s singing group (there is also a female equivalent), where 50 to 60 men meet at 11.00am for a beer in the backroom of a pub to sing together. The lead singer does his job and everyone, absolutely everyone, sings along, whether they’re punkers, long-haired guys with Metallica T-shirts or media people who don’t speak Estonian. This range, coupled with the sophisticated infrastructure and the beautiful appearance of the extensive festival grounds, is what makes Viljandi Folk Music Festival so appealing and successful.

Even though the name of the band Angus would suggest that they are from Scotland, they are in fact seven local heroes whose reggae rock is extremely popular, especially with the very young section of the audience. Also from Estonia, but more influenced by bluegrass, is the quartet Curly Strings, who also have performed in Rudolstadt already.

Intention or coincidence? The duo Ruut (also known from Rudolstadt, two female players pf the kantele facing each other, see also article in folker #4.23 and the almost name identical four piece Rüüt played one after the other on the same stage, the latter group being released by the German label Nordic Notes.

The proportion of all-female bands was quite high and proves that cultural equality works in the country. The Baltic Sisters from Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania offered great vocals without any technical or other frippery, all using the rare clay bird whistle. Also three ladies (here from Estonia and Latvia with additional music from Finland) and again three at least similar instruments from the kantele family come together in the group The Singing Tree and their concept of relatively delicate sounds and, contrary to what the name suggests, no singing – they played the Traditional Music Centre. And again three ladies form Kuula Hetke & Kelly Vask. The latter takes care of electronic sounds, while her two colleagues improvise on traditional motifs with flute and vocals.

There would so much more to report. Personal highlights were once again the two concerts by Ethno Estonia Youth 2024 and Ethno Estonia. At the first concert, around 40 boys and girls aged between 13 and 17 performed traditional music with clearly discernible rock, reggae and jazz influences. You could see the joy in their faces. This time, the much larger Song Festival Ground was chosen for the almost 60 participants somewhat older in age of Ethno Estonia. There was simply more room for the exuberant enthusiasm of the handful of tutors and many musicians from for example the USA, India and the Netherlands, both of whose melodica-playing representatives had a lot of fun.

What about disappointments? There were none, actually, although it did rain again at the end, being a particular shame that it happened while festival director Ando Kiviberg wanted to celebrate his 55th birthday “live” on stage that very Sunday. The author of this article left after half an hour being completely soaked, but many hundreds of people in front of the stage had much more stamina.

An interesting innovation was the “Green Stage” in the old town and its courtyards that offered music and dancing free of charge, also drinks and food. Around 70 concerts were held there, often featuring local musicians. A good kind of appetizer that might persuade some people to buy an actual festival ticket next year.

Viljandi, what a feast for all senses!

www.viljandifolk.ee